


A Few Cut Roses

by Bardaholic



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, Ficlet, One Shot, i don't know what this is, this will probably turn into a collection of one shots like everything else i do.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27451822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bardaholic/pseuds/Bardaholic
Summary: Episode 2 - Looking at the space between Miles giving Dani the flowers, and Dani and Jamie's interaction out in the garden, with a bit added to the end of that scene. Piecing together my take on it based on some other bits and pieces we're shown in the series.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 3
Kudos: 95





	A Few Cut Roses

**Author's Note:**

> Still obsessed and finally getting around to writing something. I have some legitimate ideas but I also just want to pick apart every Dani/Jamie scene and turn them into fics so I can write their inner dialogues and stuff because I have alllllll the feels and this is my only creative fandom outlet...SO here's hoping this is just a start and not the end. 
> 
> If you're out here reading and enjoying, thank you, and feel free to say hi :)

Jamie stomped the dirt out of her boots before stepping over the threshold of Bly Manor. She smiled at the banter coming from the kitchen and she followed the sounds and smells to the heart of the home. Owen was up to his usual tricks - making bad jokes to get Hannah to smile - and Flora was giggling at his antics.

As she rounded the corner, Jamie took in the sight of Flora and Hannah assisting Owen at the island while Dani absently stirred something in a pot on the stove. Dani’s eyes were fixed on the wall in front of her, staring but not seeing. Her lips were pulled tight and a small frown creased the space between her eyebrows.

Jamie hadn’t made any special effort to get to know Dani whilst she’d been at Bly Manor. But twice today she had been surprised by the _au pair_ , learning more about the kind of woman she is. Jamie had greatly admired Dani’s handling of Flora and Miles – firm, but fair, setting them to work but working beside them. She wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and she balanced her affection and empathy for the children with necessary rules and boundaries. She had to admit, Dani had also looked downright adorable kneeling in the dirt and guiding the children.

In stark contrast, she had seen Dani unravelled in the midst of what appeared to be a panic attack. Jamie didn’t know what, specifically, had caused this, but she’d admired Dani’s strength. She’d been filled with a sudden tenderness for the _au pair_ that had caught her off guard. She was intrigued by Dani, certain that the blonde was more complex than she’d first realised. The thought caused Jamie to unknowingly curl her lip into a lopsided smile.

Jamie stuck her hands in her pockets and sauntered into the welcoming space.

“Alright Poppins?”

Dani was startled from her thoughts and she looked up to see Jamie approaching. Her expression softened into a slight smile. She was quickly growing fond of the nickname and the way it sounded in the gardener’s northern accent. Her stomach flipped the same way it had earlier that day when Jamie had first used it. 

She looked back at the mashed potatoes in the pot and lowered the heat on the stove slightly, continuing to stir.

“Yeah, I just-” She shook her head slightly and sighed, looking back up at Jamie. She glanced quickly over her shoulder to check that Flora was occupied and she lowered her voice. “Miles has been acting a little…strange.”

Jamie tilted her head in question and moved closer. It was then that she spotted the bouquet of red and white roses on the other side of the stove. They had been hidden from view by the pot. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

Dani noticed the sudden change in Jamie’s demeanour and she dropped the wooden spoon into the pot, wiping her hands on a tea towel as she took a step closer to the gardener.

“He brought me those. Miles, I mean. He, uh, he wanted to apologise. For his behaviour.”

Jamie pressed her lips together and shook her head slowly as Dani spoke, her eyes remaining fixed on the roses. “I’ll kill him,” she declared as she spun on her heel and strode back out to the foyer.

Dani’s eyes widened and she turned to look at Hannah and Owen behind her. Hannah appeared alarmed and Owen subtly shrugged at her. Dani threw the tea towel onto the bench and hurried after Jamie.

***

Jamie could hear Dani’s hurried footsteps behind her as she walked quickly down the path towards the rose garden, fuelled by a red-hot anger welling in her chest and creeping in behind her eyes. Somewhere in her rational mind she knew that she should calm down, but at the forefront was a memory of _him,_ of Peter _fucking_ Quint making a mess of her roses, taking them without permission to court Rebecca Jessel. She’d never liked that man, had never trusted him, and sure enough Rebecca had ended up dead and he’d disappeared with Henry Wingrave’s money. The very mention of Quint was enough to send Jamie into a blind rage, remembering the day she’d found Flora out in the rain by the lake, staring at Rebecca’s lifeless body in the water. Such a waste of a life. _It should’ve been him in there instead._

She felt the anger twist in her gut as her eyes landed on the carnage of her roses. Petals and stems littered the path, red scattered through green and white like droplets of blood.

Dani stopped just behind Jamie, her arm crossed over her own waist and a hand on her cheek, taking in the sad sight. She watched Jamie squat and pick up a handful of petals, letting them fall back through her fingers. Dani could feel the gardener vibrating with emotion as she picked up a single long-stemmed red rose that had been left behind and was still intact. 

Jamie remembered Miles passing by the kitchen earlier in the day. _‘A few more weeds to pull’ my ass._ “Little shit.”

“Hey.”

Jamie looked up at the sky for a moment and felt her lips pull back into a smile – an angry grimace – as she shook her head in disbelief. “Little fucking _shit_!”

Dani dropped her hand from her face and used a firm voice as she interjected. “Hey, he’s just a kid.”

Jamie dropped the rose and stood, keeping her back turned to Dani as she took a step towards the manor. “I’m gonna kill him. I swear to _god-_ ”

Dani stepped forward and pulled Jamie by the shoulder, forcing her to stop and turn. Her expression was hard and her voice harder as she squared up to Jamie. “No. Hey, they’re just a few flowers.”

“Oh! Sure! Well that’s fine, then,” Jamie replied sarcastically.

Dani’s voice softened slightly in empathy of Jamie’s distress. “A little boy cut a few flowers, what’s the big-”

“They weren’t ready to be cut!” Jamie yelled, leaning in towards Dani. The _au pair_ stood her ground, looking back at Jamie with a slight frown. She didn’t appear intimidated, only concerned and confused.

Jamie sighed and turned away for a moment. How could she explain it to Dani? The feeling of seeing her hard work trampled and destroyed, the meaning she’d found in life through tending to her plants, the memories of Peter and Rebecca flooding to the surface. The guilt and pain of finding Rebecca dead – a suicide, they said – _I should’ve done more, I should’ve known._

The gardener took a deep breath and turned back towards Dani. Her voice was level when she spoke. “Look, I just-” Her lips twisted for a moment with the effort of holding back the sudden prickle of tears. “-I have a way of doing things and I don’t like people messing about in my garden.”

“No, you’re right.”

When Jamie raised her eyes to meet Dani’s pools of blue she was surprised to see the _au pair_ looking so calm. She’d expected harshness and to be berated. She suddenly felt guilt twisting insider her for the way she’d stepped into Dani’s space and yelled at her.

“You’re right,” Dani repeated with a slight nod. “I’ll talk to him.”

Jamie sighed again. “Of course.” Her eyes darted around the ground, unable to maintain eye contact with Dani. She licked her lips and took another deep, calming breath - _just like Tamara taught me_ – before looking at Dani once more. “Look, could we just go back to the bit where, uh, you were acting mental and _I_ had to talk _you_ down?”

Jamie was delighted and surprised at the sudden bark of laughter from Dani, like the sun coming out after a storm. She smiled sheepishly before turning to look behind her. She spotted the rose she’d discarded earlier. She knelt to pick it up and hesitated a moment before standing and turning to face Dani again.

Dani watched silently as Jamie looked down at her own hands, fiddling with the stem of the rose and breaking off a thorn.

“I’m, uh-” Jamie puffed up her cheeks and expelled the air audibly before looking up at Dani. “I’m sorry, Poppins.” She held the rose out as a peace offering. The _au pair_ made no move to take it, and her face was unreadable, so Jamie continued.

“I’m sorry for yelling at ya like that, it wasn’t okay. Won’t happen again.”

Dani kept her surprise from showing on her face as she held Jamie’s eyes for a moment. The gardener looked nervous, uncertain. Dani didn’t know what had come over Jamie, but she hoped she’d find out some day soon. The outburst seemed out of the ordinary for her, from what Dani had observed of the woman so far. Jamie was funny, warm, and caring - in a stand-offish way, like a barn cat – and Dani knew that there had to be more to the story than a few cut roses.

She let Jamie stew for a moment longer before nodding slowly. “You’re right. That wasn’t okay.”

Jamie held her breath, waiting for more. God, she hoped there was more.

Dani felt the flutter in her stomach like before, that giddiness she seemed to feel around the gardener. But she kept her expression neutral and her hand steady as she reached out to take the rose. Her fingers tingled where they grazed against Jamie’s.

“It wasn’t okay. But I accept your apology.”

Dani strode past Jamie without another word, marching back towards the manor, twirling the rose between her fingers. She smiled when she heard Jamie release the breath she’d been holding.


End file.
